Humour

 

Humour

Humour is one of the most delightful and effective elements in literature. It refers to the quality of a work that makes the reader or audience smile, laugh, or feel amused. But humour is not just about making people laugh; it often has a deeper purpose. It can be used to point out the foolishness, weaknesses, or contradictions in human nature and society. In literature, humour lightens serious situations, provides relief, and often helps writers present truth in an attractive way.

The word humour originally came from the Latin word humor, meaning “fluid” or “moisture.” In medieval medicine, it was believed that human behaviour depended on the balance of four bodily fluids, called “humours”. A balanced mixture produced a good-tempered person, while an imbalance led to anger, sadness, or foolishness.

Purpose and Function of Humour

Humour serves many purposes in literature. Its most obvious function is entertainment. However, humour often has a deeper social or moral purpose. Writers use humour to criticise society, to expose the hypocrisy of individuals, or to comment on moral and political issues. By making people laugh, authors can make them think without causing direct offence. This is why humour has always been a powerful literary tool.

For example, in satire, humour is used to ridicule or criticise human behaviour and institutions. Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and George Orwell’s Animal Farm use humorous exaggeration and irony to attack social and political corruption. Similarly, Charles Dickens in David Copperfield uses gentle humour to criticise the evils of industrial society.

Forms and Techniques of Humour

There are several forms and techniques of humour found in literature:

1. Verbal Humour – It comes from clever use of language, such as puns, wordplay, and witty remarks. Shakespeare’s plays are full of this kind of humour.
2. Situational Humour – This type arises from funny or unexpected events and coincidences. In ‘Comedy of Errors’, for instance, characters get into humorous situations because of mistaken identities.
3. Character-based Humour – Some characters themselves are funny because of their habits, speech, or behaviour. Shakespeare’s ‘Falstaff’ or ‘Nick Bottom’ are famous examples of comic characters.
4. Satirical Humour – This kind of humour has a moral aim. It mocks human vices, foolishness, or social injustice through exaggeration and irony. Writers like Swift, and Pope used this form.

Humour Across Literary Periods

During the Elizabethan age, Shakespeare combined humour and seriousness in his plays, creating a balance between laughter and tragedy. The Restoration period (17th century) gave rise to witty comedies of manners by writers like William Congreve and Richard Sheridan, which mocked the fashionable society of London.

In the Victorian era, humour became a tool for social criticism. Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and Oscar Wilde used humour to expose the hypocrisy and pretensions of society. In the 20th century, writers such as P.G. Wodehouse created pure comedy through amusing characters and absurd situations, while others like George Bernard Shaw used humour to make serious social points.

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On His Blindness

 Introduction

"On His Blindness" is a well-known sonnet written by John Milton.  John Milton is a famous English poet. The poem expresses his thoughts and emotions after losing his eyesight (दृष्टी). It follows the Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet form, with a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA CDECDE. The poem explores themes of faith, patience, and acceptance.  Milton reflects on his inability to use his poetic talent and wonders how he can still serve  God.

Background

John Milton became completely blind around 1652, at the age of 44. As a poet and scholar, he had devoted his life to literature and felt that his blindness was a great loss. During this time, he struggled with feelings of helplessness and questioned his purpose. "On His Blindness" captures these emotions and his realization that God values patience as much as active work.

Summary

The poem begins with Milton lamenting (शोक प्रकट करणे) his blindness, as he feels that he can no longer use his poetic talent to serve God. He worries that God might expect work from him even though he has lost his sight. However, the poem takes a turn when Patience, personified as a guiding force, reassures him that God does not require great deeds from everyone. Instead, those who accept their situation and trust in God’s plan also serve Him. The poem ends with the famous line: "They also serve who only stand and wait." This means that even those who are unable to perform active duties can still fulfill their purpose through faith and patience.

Analysis

1. Theme of Faith and Acceptance – The poem highlights Milton’s spiritual journey from doubt to acceptance. He realizes that service to God is not limited to active work but also includes inner faith and patience.
2. The Role of Patience – By personifying Patience, Milton presents it as a voice of wisdom that helps him understand God’s will.
3. Human Limitations vs. Divine Will – Milton initially struggles with the idea that he can no longer contribute through his poetry, but he learns that God does not expect more than what one is capable of giving.
4. Personal Reflection – The poem is deeply personal, as it reflects Milton’s own struggles with blindness and his efforts to find meaning in his life despite this challenge.

Conclusion

"On His Blindness" is a powerful poem that teaches the importance of faith, patience, and inner strength. It conveys the idea that one’s worth is not determined by outward achievements but by trust in a higher purpose. The poem remains inspiring, as it encourages people to accept life’s difficulties with grace and confidence in divine wisdom.

"On His Blindness" ही इंग्रजीतील सुप्रसिद्ध कवी जॉन मिल्टन यांनी लिहिलेली साॅनेट प्रकारातील कविता आहे. ही कविता त्यांनी अंधत्व आल्यावर लिहिली असून, त्यामध्ये त्यांनी आपल्या आयुष्याविषयीची चिंता व ईश्वरावरील विश्वास यांचे प्रकटन केले आहे. हे इटालियन (पेट्रार्कन) शैलीतील साॅनेट आहे आणि यामध्ये ABBAABBA CDECDE ही यमक योजना (rhyme scheme) आहे.

जॉन मिल्टन यांना १६५२ साली, वयाच्या ४४व्या वर्षी अंधत्व आले. साहित्य आणि काव्य लेखन हे त्यांचे जीवन होते, त्यामुळे दृष्टी गमावल्यावर त्यांना अतिशय नैराश्य आले. त्यांनी स्वतःच्या कार्यक्षमतेविषयी शंका घेतली आणि ईश्वर त्यांच्याकडून काय अपेक्षा करतो याचा विचार करू लागले. ही कविता त्यांच्या या मनःस्थितीचे प्रतिबिंब आहे.

कवितेच्या सुरुवातीस मिल्टन त्याच्या अंधत्वाबद्दल दुःख व्यक्त करतात. त्यांना असे वाटते की आता ते त्यांच्या प्रतिभेचा उपयोग करून ईश्वराची सेवा करू शकणार नाहीत. त्यांना भीती वाटते की ईश्वर त्यांच्याकडून कामाची अपेक्षा करत असेल आणि जर ते काही करू शकले नाहीत, तर त्याला उत्तर द्यावे लागेल.

मात्र, जेव्हा "Patience" (सहनशीलता) कवीला उत्तर देऊन टाकते. सहनशीलता त्यांना समजावते की ईश्वर केवळ कर्तव्याची अपेक्षा करत नाही, तर श्रद्धा आणि सहनशीलताही महत्त्वाची आहे. शेवटी, कवी म्हणतो की ईश्वरावर श्रद्धा ठेवणे आणि संयमाने त्याच्या कृपादृष्टीची वाट पाहणे हेही महत्त्वाचे आहे. हीही एक प्रकारे ईश्वराची सेवा आहे.

"On His Blindness" ही केवळ अंधत्वाबद्दलची कविता नाही, तर ती श्रद्धा, सहनशीलता आणि ईश्वराच्या योजनेवर विश्वास ठेवण्याचा संदेश देते. मिल्टन यांना कळते की शारीरिक कार्य करण्यास असमर्थ असणारे लोकही ईश्वराची सेवा करू शकतात. ही कविता आजही प्रेरणादायी आहे आणि संकटांचा स्वीकार कसा करावा हे शिकवते.

Question Bank_Aristotle's Poetics

 

Aristotle’s Poetics

1) Aristotle's Poetics was an answer to -------.

a) Sidney's An Apology for Poetry                  b) Shelley's A Defense of Poetry

c) Plato's Republic                                         d) Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

2) The Poetics is mainly concerned with -------.

a) Comedy      b) Poetry         c) Epic             d) Tragedy

3) The common principle of all fine arts is that ------------.

a) they give us pleasure                                  b) they imitate something

c) they are useful to us                                    d) they are of no use

4) Tragedy is an imitation of ---------.

a) action         b) people                     c) life               d) world

5) The term ‘mimesis’ was first used by ---------.

a) Philip Sidney                                              b) P. B. Shelley

c) Plato                                                           d) Chaucer

6) What does Aristotle mean by the word 'magnitude'?

a) management                                    b) proper size or length of the plot

c) the function of tragedy                   d) the theme of tragedy

7) Discovery' means the change of fortunes in hero's life from -----------.

a) adversity to prosperity                    b) prosperity to adversity

c) ignorance to knowledge                d) poverty to wealth

8) According to Aristotle, a tragedy has ---------- formative elements.

a) six               b) five              c) many           d) nine

9) -------- is the very soul of tragedy.

a) character     b) dialogue      c) plot             d) catharsis

10) The word 'Catharsis' is used to denote -----------.

a) the action of tragedy                                               b) the list of characters

c) the function or emotional effect of tragedy        d) the definition of tragedy

11) The root meaning of hamartia is ------.

a) fixing the target                              b) missing the mark

c) finding fault                                    d) right choice

12) According to Bradley, hamartia is ---------.

a) tragic flaw             b) justice          c) fortune                    d) right decision

13) Butcher and Bywater believe that hamartia means --------.

a) a missing of mark                           b) misfortune of hero

c) an error of judgment                    d) all of these

14) Hamartia is not --------.

a) moral falling          b) ideal truth    c) universal truth         d) none of these

15) Aristotle used the word hamartia for ---------.

a) villain                      b) ideal tragic hero    d) heroine                    d) none of these

16) Aristotle defines tragedy in _____ of Poetics.

            a) Book I                     b) Book III                  c) Book IV                  d) Book VI

17) According to Aristotle, a tragedy should be in the form of _____.

            a) narration                  b) action                     c) description              d) prose

18) For a tragic hero, Aristotle gives an example of _____.

            a) Oedipus                  b) King Lear               c) Hamlet                    d) Macbeth

19) According to Aristotle, a tragic hero must be _____.

            a) shy              b) very poor                c) ethically good        d) selfish

 

 

B) Answer the following questions in one word/phrase/sentence.

1) Where did Plato use the term ‘mimesis’? (Republic)

2) Which Greek word is represented ‘imitation’ in English? (Mimesis)

3) What does Aristotle mean by "the action of tragedy must be complete'? (It must have a well beginning, a middle and an end.)

4) Which are the two kinds of plot, according to Aristotle? (simple and complex)

5) What is meant by peripety? (The change in fortunes of the hero)

6) How should be the language of tragedy, according to Aristotle? (dignified and elevated)

7) What does Aristotle mean by the plot in tragedy? (the arrangement of incidents)

8) What kind of emotions are given outlet through tragedy?  (pity and fear)

9) How should be the tragic hero, according to Aristotle? (He should be good, but not too good or perfect.)

10) What is the root meaning of hamartia? (“missing the mark”)

11) What is the meaning of hamartia according to Else and Martin Ostward? (The hero has a tendency to err, created by lack of knowledge)

12) What is the meaning of anagnorisis? (It is a sudden change, “from ignorance to knowledge”.)

13) Who believes that hamartia is not moral state; but an error of judgment which a man makes or commits? (Butcher, Bywater, and Rostangi)

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Three term labels (consonants)

 

Phoneme,Three-Term Labels:

1. /p/: Voiceless bilabial plosive 

2. /b/: Voiced bilabial plosive 

3. /t/: Voiceless alveolar plosive 

4. /d/: Voiced alveolar plosive 

5. /k/: Voiceless velar plosive 

6. /g/: Voiced velar plosive 

7. /f/: Voiceless labiodental fricative

8. /v/: Voiced labiodental fricative

 

9. /θ/: (as in thin),Voiceless dental fricative

10. /ð/:  (as in this),Voiced dental fricative

11. /s/: Voiceless alveolar fricative

12. /z/: Voiced alveolar fricative

13. /ʃ/: (as in she),Voiceless post-alveolar fricative

14. /ʒ/: (as in measure),Voiced post-alveolar fricative

15. /h/: Voiceless glottal fricative

16. /ʧ/ (as in chop),Voiceless post-alveolar affricate

17. /ʤ/: (as in jump),Voiced post-alveolar affricate

18. /m/: Voiced bilabial nasal

19. /n/: Voiced alveolar nasal

20. /ŋ/: (as in sing),Voiced velar nasal

21. /l/: Voiced alveolar lateral

22. /r/: Voiced alveolar approximant

23. /w/: Voiced bilabial approximant

24. /j/: (as in yes),Voiced palatal approximant

Phonology (3)

 (e-content developed by Prof. (Dr) N A Jarandikar)

Primary Stress

·         stress म्हणजे आघात. इंग्रजीमध्ये प्रत्येक शब्दातील विशिष्ट भाग हा अधिक जोर देऊन उच्चारला जातो.

·         उदा. examiNATION या शब्दामध्ये NATION हा भाग पहिल्या भागापेक्षा अधिक जोर देऊन उच्चारला जातो. यालाच stress असे म्हटले जाते.

·         Stress एकपेक्षा अधिक असू शकतात. पण सध्या आपण एकाच stress वर भर देणार आहोत. यालाच primary stress असे म्हटले जाते.

·         शब्दातील पहिला/दुसरा भाग याला syllable असे म्हटले जाते.

·         कोणत्याही शब्दामध्ये phoneme हा सर्वात लहान घटक असतो. Phonemes एकत्र येऊन एक syllable तयार होते. आणि syllables एकत्र येऊन एक शब्द (morpheme) तयार होतो.

·         Syllable मध्ये किमान एक vowel असणे गरजेचे असते.

·         ज्या शब्दामध्ये एकच syllable असते, अशा शब्दांना monosyllabic words म्हटले जाते.

·         Primary stress दाखवण्यासाठी त्या शब्दातील जे syllable आघात देऊन उच्चारायचे आहे, त्यावरती एक उभी रेष मारली जाते. उदा. exami ^׀nation

·         त्यामुळे या शब्दाचे transcription आणि primary stress हा पुढीलप्रमाणे लिहिला जातो : / ɪɡzæmɪˈneɪʃn / परीक्षेमध्ये आपल्याला या पद्धतीने लिहायचे आहे.

·         Primary stress देण्याबाबतचे काही नियम ठरलेले आहेत. यातील काही महत्वाचे नियम पाहूया.

१.      दोन syllable असणाऱ्या बहुतांश noun आणि adjective मध्ये Primary stress हा पहिल्या syllable वर असतो.

उदा. ^׀sample; ^׀purple; ^׀rainy

२.        दोन syllable असणाऱ्या बहुतांश verb आणि preposition मध्ये Primary stress हा दुसऱ्या syllable वर असतो.

उदा. re^׀lax; re^׀ceive; de ^׀ cide

३.      एकच शब्द हा noun आणि verb म्हणून काम करत असेल तर noun साठी primary stress हा पहिल्या syllable वर येतो आणि verb साठी primary stress हा दुसऱ्या syllableवर येतो.

उदा. ^׀object (N); ob^׀ject (V)

४.      Suffix rules: खालील suffixes साठी त्या suffix पूर्वीच्या syllable वर primary stress येतो.

उदा. —ial:  ^׀social; fina^׀ncial

    —cian: mu^׀sician; phy^׀sician

—ian: co^׀median; tech^׀nician

—ible: im^׀possible; ^׀terrible

—ion: classifi^׀cation; compe^׀tition

—ia: bac^׀teria; Vic^׀toria  

५.      monosyllabic words मध्ये stress mark दिला जात नाही.

 

Sl. No.	Spelling	Transcription	Sl. No.	Spelling	Transcription
1.	college	/׀kɒlɪʤ	2.	knowledge	/׀nɒlɪʤ/
3.	village	/׀vɪlɪʤ:/	4.	nation	/׀neɪʃn/
5.	election	/ɪ ׀lekʃn/	6.	pension	/׀penʃn/
7.	development	/dɪ ׀veləpmənt/	8.	compartment	/kəm ׀pɑːtmənt/
9.	entertainment	/entə ׀teɪnmənt/	10.	pillow	/׀pɪləʊ/
11.	glow	/ɡləʊ/	12.	throw	/θrəʊ/
13.	tight	/taɪt/	14.	flight	/flaɪt/
15.	slight	/slaɪt/	16.	sample	/׀sæmpl/
17.	purple	/׀pəːpl/	18.	rainy	/׀reɪnI/
19.	relax	/rɪ׀læks/	20.	decide	/ dɪ ׀ saɪd/
21.	social	/ˈsəʊʃl/	22.	financial	/ faɪˈnænʃl/
23.	musician	/ mjuːˈzɪʃn/	24.	comedian	/kəˈmiːdiən/
25.	technician	/tekˈnɪʃn/	26.	impossible	/ɪmˈpɒsəbᵊl/
27.	terrible	/ˈterəbᵊl/	28.	classification	/klæsɪfɪˈkeɪʃᵊn/
29.	bacteria	/bækˈtɪəriə/	30.	Object (N)	/ˈɒbʤɪkt/
				Object (V)	/əbˈʤɛkt/

 

·        परीक्षेमध्ये या अनुषंगाने पुढील दोन प्रश्न असतील :

Q. 1 b) Transcription of words with primary stress             (03 marks)

(यामध्ये वरीलप्रमाणे शब्दांचे transcription आणि primary stress देणेचा आहे.)

Q. 1 c) Conversion of the given transcriptions into conventional spellings.

(02 marks)

(यामध्ये दिलेल्या transcription च्या आधारे स्पेलिंग लिहायचे आहे.)

EXERCISE:

Q. Transcribe the given words. Give primary stress mark.

1. Sunday;            2. Tuesday            3. Wednesday                 4. Today

5. January            6. May                  7. November                   8. Month

9. music               10. Guitar             11. Instrument               12. Drum

13. computer        14. Mobile            15. Printer                      16. Mouse

17. lovely              18. Early              19. Swiftly                      20. Daily

 

(आपण केलेले transcriptionबरोबर आहे की नाही हे तपासून पाहण्यासाठी पुढील वेबसाईटची मदत घ्या : https://tophonetics.com)

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